There is an increasing interest in home networking to enable users to enjoy the ubiquitous availability of digital content that a wired and wireless home network connection provides. Many forms of data are exchanged over current communications network including, for example, voice, financial and business information, digital content, and email, to name a few. Much of the information exchanged is of a private nature, and it is desirable to protect such information from eavesdropping, alteration, and/or other forms of invasive activities. To provide such protection, many current wireless networking technologies incorporate security functionalities. Enabling the security functionalities typically involves the provisioning of parameters related to the operation and security of the network. Normally, these parameters are programmed by a manager of the network. In the case of wireless networking equipment for use in the consumer market, the programming of such parameters may be sufficiently intimidating and confusing for a user to cause the manager of residential wireless networking equipment to be reluctant to perform the tasks involved in properly securing the network.
Similarly, many of the “no new wires” wired home network technologies, such as phone-line networking (e.g. HomePNA), power-line networking (e.g. HomePlug), coaxial networking (e.g. MOCA), etc., have a similar characteristic as wireless technologies in that transmission could be monitored by neighboring systems since those wires often connect, either directly or indirectly, neighboring homes together. Thus, as in the case of wireless networking equipment for use in the consumer market, the programming of such parameters can be confusing for a user to cause the manager of residential wired networking equipment to be reluctant to perform the tasks involved in properly securing the network. Finally, such wired and wireless networking systems can be inter-connected, which creates additional difficulties in securing the networking systems.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.